Tulane embraces preferred names
06 November, 2015
category: Card Issuance
Tulane is now allowing students to use a preferred name on its student ID, the Splash Card. The university is also acknowledging preferred names on class registration lists and is officially indicating students’ personal gender pronoun.
Per a report from the Tulane Hullabaloo, a student’s preferred name may be one that better fits the student’s gender identity, is easier to pronounce than their legal name, or a nickname or middle name. As with other preferred name initiatives, Tulane aims to better support its transgender and international students, as well as any student that uses an alternate designation in the student information system.
Students will be able to register their preferred name online through the university’s web portal. The preferred name can then be printed on student Splash Cards as well as be made available to professors on faculty rosters as well as on Blackboard, academic advising records and OrgSync, a centralized network that connects students to organizations, programs and departments on campus. Preferred names will also be distributed to all campus healthcare providers.
Students will also be able to designate their personal pronoun at the same time they provide their preferred name on Gibson. Students will be allowed to select the gender-inclusive pronoun of their choice; “he,” “she” or the gender-neutral pronoun “they.” Students can alternatively indicate that they be addressed by their name only.
The registrar will begin to print preferred names and personal pronouns on class rosters beginning with the Spring 2016 semester, while changes to the student Splash Cards will begin as soon as possible.
Tulane’s Undergraduate Student Government was behind the changes and marks one of a series of policy changes promoting gender inclusivity on campus. Tulane is also offering “Transgender 101” workshops, through its Office for Gender and Sexual Diversity, to educate attendees about transgender issues.
